Marion County RECORD

Conflicting claims continue to swirl this week after a 7-year-old who vomited after getting on a USD 408 bus was left to walk home on his own in 20-degree weather.
The boy’s parents contend he was forced off the bus and, contrary to district policy, they were never notified. They have asked that the driver be fired.

Bruce Skiles has been a fixture in Marion for 21 years, but on March 29, he will see his last chiropractic patients and retire from his practice.
Skiles will continue to do anesthesia work for St. Luke Hospital and other area hospitals. He said by “50 percent” retiring he will have more time to enjoy his hobbies.

Jake Schadel of Marion loves his family and hot dogs, so when the opportunity to buy a food truck presented itself, he jumped at the chance.
He, his wife Andrea, and their three children traveled 600 miles Feb. 22 to Chula, Mo., to pick up the box truck and returned home with a future hot dog truck.

Nikki Reid thought she was crazy after her fiancé, Jessy Thouvenell, filled up their vehicles one night only to find them empty the next morning. She wasn’t crazy — someone had stolen the gas from their tanks.
“It makes you think, ‘Did I put gas in there?’” she said. “Was I really that low?”

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, “springing forward” one hour. Residents can set their clocks ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night.
The state fire marshal’s office also encourages residents to test smoke alarms and change their batteries at the same time.

Janet Weathersbee has been crocheting since she was a little girl. Even though it can cause her excruciating pain, she still finds time to crochet for people she loves and complete strangers alike.
“I have been crocheting since I was 6,” she said. “My grandma taught me and I learned using thread.”

The fifth annual Daddy Olympics attracted 30 men and 44 children from all five county school districts to Marion Sports and Aquatic Center on Saturday.
Parents as Teachers coordinator Lori Soo Hoo helped organize the event.

Only a handful of residents showed up for the Marion street project information meeting Feb. 26.
Darin Neufeld and Andrew Brunner of EBH Engineering, city administrator Roger Holter, and a representative from Vogts-Parga Construction of Newton were there to answer questions about the project.

With the help of his father, Steve Jirak, Elias Jirak, a fifth grader at Centre Elementary School, has completed a successful trapping season.
He caught five bobcats, 44 raccoons, 10 skunks, 23 possums, and four coyotes.

Hillsboro City Council voted to sell 3.7 acres of land in the Hillsboro Heights addition off U.S. 56 to a holding company Tuesday.
The plot will be used to build an undisclosed store, which cannot be named because of a confidentiality agreement with the holding company, Southeast Kansas Development. However, Clint Seibel, economic development director, said the store will sell fuel, groceries, and pharmaceuticals.

Peabody Police Chief Bruce Burke has had reports of coyote sightings within the city limits in the past several weeks.
“It is not unusual for them to be on the move this time of the year,” Burke said. “The females are giving birth and they are hungry. They tend to go for the easy meal — pet food left outside, garbage overflowing from trash containers and Dumpsters, even unattended domestic animals left outside.”

During March and April, many ranchers in the Flint Hills will be burning off pastures. Air quality during those months will be greatly decreased due to the large amount of airborne particles created by burning.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has several recommendations for people with heart, lung, and other respiratory illnesses, and elderly and children who might be affected.

Marlene A. Anduss, 78, died Thursday at her home in Marion. She was born July 9, 1935, in Hillsboro to Henry and Mary Lou (Gibson) Gaede.
She married Reign Anduss on Jan. 21, 1955, in Newton.

Lester M. Franta, 79, of El Dorado died Feb. 26 at his home. He was born Jan. 27, 1935, in Marion County to Mike and Mary (Dvorak) Franta.
He graduated from Lincolnville High School, attended EMT college and was the first EMT on the fire department. He was a firefighter in Wichita for 22 years, retiring as a captain. After retirement, he worked at St. Joseph hospital in maintenance.

Wilbur A. Hett, 90, died Sunday in Hillsboro.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Zeiner Funeral Home in Marion. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Strassburg Baptist Church, rural Marion.

Edna Lee Hulett, 86, of Marion died Feb. 24 at her residence. She was born Dec. 8, 1927, to John and Edna Faye (Bailey) Rinker in Schell City, Mo.
She married Ellsworth L. Hulett on June 30, 1946. They had four children.

Maggie Meisinger of Marion has been preparing income tax returns for 42 years.
The work has changed considerably since she started at Wheeler, Westerhaus, and Wheeler as a legal secretary in 1972.

Financial advisers often run into people who are afraid to talk about their money. Some local advisers shared why they think that is.
Tom Kimbrel of Edward Jones in Marion said he doesn’t expect people to open up about money to just anyone, because it is such a personal topic, but he hopes that through trust he can assist people in making smart money decisions.

Mark Regier of Everence Financial will speak about faith-based investing at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Faith Mennonite Church in Newton.
“Faith-based investing is an increasingly hot topic among Christians in America today,” he said.

Despite the cold and snowy weather, 44 people trekked to the city building Sunday to listen to what candidates running for city council and mayor had to say about issues affecting the city.
The forum, sponsored by the

Residents will have more time before seeing an increase in electric bills. Marion City Council members voted Monday to look into an option for a variable increase proposed by city administrator Roger Holter, one of four plans he proposed Monday’s meeting.
All plans would increase base rates from $6 to $8 for residential residents and from $7 to $10 for commercial customers. One option would raise rates per kilowatt-hour from .1070 cents to .1175 cents, with an energy cost adjustment added to bills based on monthly variable costs from Kansas Power Pool.

State Rep. John Barker and State Sen. Clark Shultz met with voters Saturday at Marion Chamber of Commerce’s legislative coffee, and a bill to repeal the state’s mortgage registration fee was a popular topic of conversation.
Shultz said in his opening remarks that bank and real estate trade groups are lobbying to repeal the fee, but it would cause a budget crunch for counties. Marion County has received about $97,000 on average from the fee over the past seven years.

At the suggestion of deputy register of deeds Rebecca Wingfield for improvement of handicap accessible parking at the courthouse, commissioners voted Friday to designate a space near the old jail for construction.
Commissioner Randy Dallke said Wingfield offered the idea of developing the parking area near the ramp on the southeast side of the courthouse. Road and bridge personnel will perform construction work.

Marion City Council candidate Duane McCarty was unable to attend the candidate forum Sunday because he was on duty with the sheriff’s department. However, he discussed the questions asked afterward.
McCarty emphasized his local roots. His grandparents and father were from Marion, and he graduated from Marion High School. He was raised in Florence and moved to Marion about 10 years ago.
Economic development

We kept busy this weekend with events going on in and around the community, despite the cold and snowy weather. It was refreshing to see 44 people come out to the candidate forum Sunday.
One of the topics of discussion at the forum, as well as at recent city council meetings, was utility rates. Candidates variously voiced support for setting utility rates to break even or high enough to subsidize the general fund.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

20th Century Club met Monday at Zimmerman’s Restaurant. Helen Reznicek and Marge Schwartz were hostesses. Eighteen members were present.
Decorations followed a St. Patrick’s theme. Members enjoyed a meal of chicken salad wraps, garden salad with a fig and raspberry dressing, and blarney stones for dessert.

Sharon Kelsey of Marion and Kris Hardisty of Salina visited Sharon’s sister and brother-in-law, J.B. and Margie Geisler, recently in Metairie, La.
They attended the wedding of Sharon’s nephew and godson, Cimarron Rio Ensminger, to Melissa Broussand Parenti on Feb. 22 at Landry’s in New Orleans.

Sons of the American Legion will have a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the post at 424 E. Main St., Marion. The state commander of the Sons of the American Legion will be on hand to talk about the organization and answer any questions.
Sons of the American Legion was created in 1932 as a branch of the American Legion for boys and men whose parents or grandparents served in the military.

Marion Kiwanis Club discussed the Old Settlers’ Day theme and Easter egg hunt Tuesday with 18 members and one guest present. The club will raise money next week for Marion County Emergency Food Bank.
Greg Bowers led club members in singing several songs. Al Ash reported that several members had attended a pancake breakfast Saturday in McPherson for interclub credit. Another interclub meeting will be Saturday at Emporia. Members will meet at 8:30 a.m. Saturday to go.

Phillip Barnes of Wamego was among 14 recipients Feb. 22 of awards for the 2013 Conservation Achievement Program at a reception and banquet in Salina.
Barnes earned the stream monitor award for his work with the Marion Reservoir Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy.

This month, the home of Prairie View, Inc., Newton, celebrates its early beginnings and 60 years of offering mental and behavior health care services.
Throughout the span of World War II, conscientious objectors — including 1,500 Mennonites — learned firsthand that the mentally ill were warehoused in state-operated hospitals.

Steve Farney of McPherson will give a presentation titled “Title Towns: Class BB Boys Basketball Champions of Kansas,” at 9:45 Friday at Tabor College’s Wohlgemuth Music Education Center.
Farney’s talk will center around the impact of high school basketball on small towns including stories about two championship teams from Durham.

Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church will have its monthly community hymn sing at 7 p.m. March 9 at the church.
The theme of the March meeting is “God our Creator and Sustainer.” The event will include singing, scripture reading, and prayer. Attendees will have the chance to choose their favorite hymns.

Senior centers in Marion and Hillsboro Main Street Ministries will receive commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture March 12.
Each site will distribute commodities based on their own schedule, and may not distribute on the same day. If there are no commodities left at a local site, patrons are encouraged to call the Marion County Department on Aging at (620) 382-3580.

Marion residents are invited to World Day for Prayer at 7 p.m. Friday at Marion Presbyterian Church.
“I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Unto the Hills” is the theme, written by Kansas Church Women United. The focus is on Flint Hills Job Corps near Manhattan. Young women are able to live at the site, attend classes, and develop job skills. The center also cares for children.

Marion County Democratic Women met Thursday at Marion Senior Center. After lunch the group listened to mayoral candidate Todd Heitschmidt speak about his views on leadership, issues, and projects.
Sue Clough presided over the business meeting. Members judged Kansas Day to be a big success and will celebrate it again in 2015.

4-H NEWS:

MARION SENIOR CENTER:

MEMORIES:

Even when Mike Helmer was young, he had a coach’s mentality.
In junior high school, he stayed late after basketball practice working out with coaches Randy Savage and Steve Janzen. In high school, he studied film after hours with coach Marion Ogden when other players were concerned with other things.

An excited bunch of children, parents, and “Seuss lovers” gathered Saturday in the new Santa Fe Room at Marion City Library to celebrate the iconic author’s birthday by reading his stories and participating in Seuss-inspired activities.
“Kids of all ages love his books,” event organizer Cathy Martin said. “Most of his stories have a sing-song simple rhythm that is easy for children to grab onto.”

Marion High School freshman Garrett Alleven may be younger than most of the swimmers he competes with this weekend, but he proved he belongs.
Alleven, who turned 15 Tuesday, will compete in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and 400 individual medley at the Speedo Champions Series sectional meet beginning Friday in Jenks, Okla.

After dominating the regional wrestling tournament and sending nine wrestlers to state, Marion took 12th place as a team out of 72 teams, and junior wrestlers Kyle Palic and Adam Janzen medaled over the weekend at the state tournament in Hays.
“For the first time we felt like we belonged there,” coach Chad Adkins said Monday. “Overall, we had what it took to compete at a state level.”

Contrary to its high scoring output in games of late, the Marion boys’ basketball team had to win Monday more so with defense and free throw shooting than with fast breaks and threes.
The Warriors fell behind to Halstead 5-1 early, but tied the game with more than a minute left in the first quarter. Marion toughened its defense in the second quarter, holding Halstead to seven points to lead 20-12 at halftime.

Several Hutchinson Community College students from the county have been named to the president’s and vice president’s honor roll for the fall.
president’s honor roll (4.0 GPA)
Lauren Geis of Durham; Peter Bartel, Windy McCarty, and Jehoiada Schmidt, all of Hillsboro; and Julie Starks of Marion.
Vice President’s Honor Roll (3.5-3.999 gpa)
Jacob Herrel and Hayley Jirak of Hillsboro; Michelle Bowman of Lost Springs; Thomas Oborny of Marion; Brooks Hodges, Courtney Kloster, Kyle Seeney, and Colton Terronez, all of Peabody; and Sara Whorton of Tampa.

Parents looking to enroll their children in kindergarten at Marion Elementary for 2014-15 can take enrollees to a screening March 24 and 25. Students must be 5 by Aug. 31.
To set up an appointment, parents can contact Deb Shipman at (620) 382-3771.

The office of First District Congressman Tim Huelskamp is now taking applications for military service academy nominations. The deadline for submission is Oct. 1.
The congressman can nominate a limited number of young men and women ages 17 to 23 to attend four of the nation’s five service academies. The process requires an applicant to have a history of personal discipline and a commitment to their school and community.

The Marion girls’ basketball team’s season ended Tuesday night in the first round of substate to Hutchinson Trinity Catholic High School.
The Warriors had played the Celtics just a week earlier and were able to lead Trinity through halftime. They eventually lost the lead and the game, 45-36.

Despite losing two of three games they played last week, the Centre boys’ basketball team (11-9) is seeded first in the substate tournament this week at Hartford. They had a bye Monday and will play Hartford (8-13) Thursday in the semi-finals.
They played league-leading Solomon last Thursday at home and were defeated 65-52.

The Centre girls’ basketball team has its sights set on a third consecutive trip to the state tournament. With a record of 17-3, they are seeded first in the substate tournament at Hartford and had a bye Monday in the first round. They will play Hartford (4-17) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Lady Cougars defeated Peabody-Burns and Solomon last week, ending the season with three victories.

Growing up as fraternal twins, Cacey and Ty Simons have always been close. They are supportive of each other in whatever each chooses to do. The seniors are honor students at Centre High School and are involved in many of the same activities.
Both are members of FFA, Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, student council, and drama club. Both have been class officers all four years of high school. Ty is vice president this year, and Cacey is student council representative. In addition, Ty is serving as student body president and Cacey is student body treasurer.

Marion sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students got a break from normal classes on Feb. 26 to listen to, interact, and learn from an assortment of 19 guest speakers who visited the middle school to talk about their professions.
“The idea was to expose our students to a variety of career paths so that they can become more aware of what is out there,” counselor Kris Burkholder said.

Marion Middle School fielded two seventh-grade and two eighth-grade teams Monday at the Peabody Scholars’ Bowl.
The seventh-grade A-team posted a 5-0 record to capture first place in their division. They defeated Peabody A 60-0, Canton Galva 40-35, Peabody B 100-30, Centre 80-40, and Marion B 50-35.

How do you convince a group of 20 fourth grade students that studying famous individuals from Kansas can be fun? By letting them pick out a favorite and become that person for an afternoon.
Travis Schafer’s students at Peabody-Burns Elementary School have spent three weeks creating a “Kansas Wax Museum” of interesting, famous, and historic Kansans.